Robot 6

Comics A.M. | Batman dominates August bookstore sales

Retailing | DC Comics dominated bookstore graphic novel sales in August, probably because of the release of The Dark Knight Rises and a “buy two, get one free” sale on DC graphic novels at Barnes & Noble. Six of the Top 10 titles are Batman comics, with The Walking Dead, Watchmen, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Naruto each taking a slot as well. [ICv2]

Creators | Judge Dredd writer John Wagner talks about the origins of his character, the importance of U.K. publisher DC Thomson, and his dislike of digital comics. [The Daily Record]

Creators | Alison Bechdel talks about turning 50, menopause and publishing the right book at the right time. [Jezebel]

Fables

Conventions | Minnesota Public Radio talks to Fables writer Bill Willingham about the upcoming Fabletown and Beyond convention, the first comics convention to focus on “mythic fiction” such as Fables and Bone. Willingham also addresses the genre in general: “There’s love lost, and love found, and regrets, and betrayals and fighting for a cause you believe in. All the standard stuff that makes up everybody’s life, to one extent or another, is in there. And that’s what we keep returning to.” [MPRNews]

Comics | Philip Nel and Eric Reynolds, who are editing a five-volume compilation of Crockett Johnson’s Barnaby, explain what the classic comic is about and put it into the context of its times: “The strip mixes fantasy with satire. It’s partly about the imaginary world that’s really not imaginary that O’Malley and his cohorts inhabit and who Barnaby and the other children see but the grownups don’t see. It’s also partly about the political world of the 1940s. Johnson is making a mock of politicians and ideas from the period.” [Westfield Comics]